Honesty

by Eugene V. Debs
Unsigned editorial published in Locomotive Firemen’s Magazine,
vol. 7, no. 4 (April 1883), pg. 162.

What is grander than an honest man? Who is nobler than

the man who pays his debts? “Pay as you go” is a very common
proverb, but it means more than men usually imagine. To run in
debt with no hope of paying is as bad as highway robbery. The
only difference between the man who borrows, not intending to
repay, and the man who picks a pocket, is that the latter goes to
the penitentiary, while the former ought to.
Owe no man anything longer than it is possible to repay!
The man who pays his debts stands a better chance for heaven
than the man who shouts at revivals while his washwoman is
starving to death, because the devout Christian has taken the
bankrupt law. Plank down the cash every time; don’t say, “send
in the bill.” Pay your board bills, your wash bills; pay your dues
at the lodge; don’t be a deadbeat, always behind and always ask-
ing your creditors to “call again.”
There is more genuine Christianity in one man who “pays
up” than in a hundred professed Christians who subscribe to
foreign missions with no intent to pay the subscription. Don’t
sail under false colors! It is better to be poor and not have much
enjoyment than to be rich at the expense of your creditors. The
man who beats a boarding house will steal the first chance he
gets. A deadbeat is a thief.
Meet every obligation in life! It is better to die poor with
your debts paid than to leave your heirs a fortune in your wife’s
name. Don’t let your wife and children lose the benefits of our
Brotherhood simply because you failed to pay your way! The
proudest legacy you can leave your children is an honest name.

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 Don’t allow any man to say to your children, “Your father owes
me money.”
The world will forgive a man many shortcomings if he will
only pay his debts. If you can’t afford an expense, don’t indulge
in it; it is better to do without than to make some creditor do
without. If you make only fifty dollars a month, don’t spend
seventy; the twenty dollars belong to some other man. Pay as
you go, be honest, and you will gain men’s respect; run in debt
and you will have to make friends with the constable.

Edited by Tim Davenport

1000 Flowers Publishing, Corvallis, OR · September 2015 · Non-commercial reproduction permitted.